Dessert For Two
by Michelle Clover
Summary: Fluffy little present for the Santa Exchange. Nathaniel decides to surprise the Commander with a dessert the two of them shared in their childhood hoping it will make it easier to reveal his true feelings.


**A/N- As always, Bioware owns all.**

"Son of a bitch!" Nathaniel howled just before sticking his fingers in his mouth and sucking them to ease the pain of the burn he just sustained. The wooden spoon in the kettle had fallen just before he turned to pick up the cinnamon for the compote and he instinctively tried to grab it but misjudged the angle and burned his index and middle fingers. He continued cursing himself for his stupidity and hoped to the Maker that no one had heard him. He knew that if Mistress Mara found him in the kitchens making a mess, he was done for. Not that the cook was the only person he was trying to keep his deeds a secret from, Nathaniel didn't want anyone to know…well, at least not until he was finished, and then only Victoria. Luckily, most of the staff and all of the Wardens but the Commander had left the castle for the evening for the First Day celebrations.

When Victoria told him that she planned to stay in for the evening in order to enjoy a bit of quiet time, Nathaniel came up with an idea. He was going to cook a special dessert for her and hopefully work up the courage afterward to finally tell her how he felt. As he pulled the biscuits from the stone oven to check them, he couldn't help but smile at the memories they brought back.

He recalled the first time he met her, the youngest Cousland child and Bryce and Eleanor's only daughter. Nathaniel was six, nearly seven, when his father allowed him to travel to Highever with him. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the teyrn and teyrna, a son who was nearly four years older than Nathaniel and a small ball of mud with pigtails and a wooden sword.

"I see your daughter still fancies herself a boy then, Bryce" the elder Howe observed with a hearty laugh.

"My girl's still a pup, Rendon" the teyrn replied with a grin. "Plenty of time to learn to be a proper lady."

Eleanor sighed. "If we can ever find her again beneath all of that muck. And in your brand new dress to boot, Victoria. For the Maker's sake, didn't I tell you that you must keep it clean at least until after the arl's arrival?"

The little girl shrugged guiltily. "I'm sorry, mother. I tried…honest I did, but when I was running toward the bridge after I heard you calling for me I tripped and fell into a puddle."

The teyrna turned her attention to her eldest child. "Fergus, will you please take your sister up to Nan and tell her that she needs a proper bath?"

Fergus rolled his eyes before scowling at his sibling. "Come on, and don't you dare touch me with those filthy hands or so help me I'll spank your bottom red with that sword."

"You will do no such thing, Fergus Cousland" his mother reprimanded. "Now off with the both of you."

"That boy of yours is turning into a fine young man, Bryce. It might do my Nathaniel good to tag along after him while we're here."

"But father," the young Howe argued, "I would rather stay here with you."

"Nonsense, Nathaniel" Rendon balked. "The teyrn and I have adult matters to discuss that you do not need to be present for. Now run along."

The boy's head bowed in both defeat and shame. He knew better than to question the man he idolized above all others. "Yes, father" he whispered before taking off at a run to catch up with the Cousland children before they lost him within the vast corridors of the castle.

As soon as Fergus had deposited his sister with their nanny, he started toward the door with young Nathaniel at his heels. The older boy turned on the younger one and sneered. "I don't care what your father says. I will not spend the remainder of my day with a little brat as my shadow. I have things to do and I don't need you tagging along. Just sit here and wait for my sister. She can show you around the castle. She's closer to your age anyhow."

A wide-eyed Nathaniel nodded and crept quietly into the darkest corner of the room to wait. The next seven days couldn't pass quickly enough at that point. He had been so excited when his father agreed to take him along, especially when he learned that the teyrn and teyrna had children around his own age. At that moment, however, he wished that he had just stayed home.

It was nearly half an hour when the girl emerged from the washroom, scrubbed from head to toe and sporting a fresh frock. Nathaniel pressed his back into the corner as far as he could, hoping that she wouldn't notice him. He had no such luck, however, because she spotted him almost immediately. She approached him with a large grin and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Victoria, but everyone calls me Tori…except my mother and father…and Nan…and Fergus of course. Most of the time, he just calls me squirt."

"Nate" he squeaked back in answer to her unspoken question.

Tori's blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Can you keep a secret, Nate?"

When he bobbed his head up and down, she leaned forward and cupped his ear with her hands before whispering, "I have a hideout just beyond the castle grounds that nobody knows about but me…not even Fergus. If you promise not to tell anyone, I can take you there."

He shrugged. "Okay."

Tori grabbed a pack that was sitting on a nearby bench, took him by the hand and practically dragged him through the castle to the door of the kitchens. She whispered for him to wait there before slowly and quietly turning the handle. A few minutes later, she returned with a triumphant smile and a bulging pack, but she did not reveal what she had been up to. They found their way out of the castle and onto the surrounding grounds. As they made their way to a grove of nearby trees, she pulled him behind a low wall when she saw one of the guards approaching. They waited silently for the soldier to pass before starting out again.

Beyond the trees, there was a small cliff that was slowly being eroded away by the ocean waves crashing against it. Nathaniel stayed close to Tori's side as she turned right and began walking along the wall. Near the backside of the cliff, they came across several bushes which the girl pushed aside and walked through. Hidden among the greenery was the entrance to a small cavern. Tori grinned back at Nathaniel as she stepped to the side to allow him entry first.

Inside, he found a large blanket set upon the floor of the cave along with several unlit candles on what looked to be naturally formed tables. There were also cups, plates and flatware stacked neatly in a wicker basket near the wall.

"Well?" she asked with gleeful anticipation. "What do you think?"

"This is…wonderful" he whispered in awe. "I wish that I had such a place to go when I need to hide from my older brother."

"Well, you're in luck because I have a strict no older brothers allowed policy in my hideout." She pulled her pack from her shoulders and began removing its contents. "I also have a surprise. Apple cinnamon compote and fresh biscuits."

"So that's why you made a stop at the kitchen?"

Tori nodded happily as she removed the lid from the jar of fruit. "Yes. When she was giving me my bath, Nan told me that this was to be tonight's dessert. But I thought that it would make a lovely tea for my distinguished guest."

Nathaniel laughed. "Distinguished is it?"

"Well, you are the first person I have ever told about this place."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's have tea now."

Tori's face turned red as she bit her lower lip with embarrassment. "There's only one problem…I don't have any tea. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "That's okay. I never really cared for tea much anyway. The dessert is the best part."

Victoria and Nathaniel stayed in the cave for the rest of the afternoon, telling stories and getting to know each other. They were severely punished when they didn't return to the castle until well after dark, but both agreed the adventure had been worth it. The two children became the best of friends after that, and for the next six years, every time Arl Howe visited the Couslands Nathaniel would talk his father into letting him tag along.

At the end of the summer of his thirteenth year, Nathaniel discovered that he was being sent away to squire in the Free Marches. On the last day of his last trip to Highever, he finally worked up the courage to tell Tori about his departure in their special place. They were once again indulging in a dessert which she had filched from kitchen, when he broke the news to her.

"Tori…there's something I must tell you."

"Let me guess…you are madly in love with me and when we become of age, you want us to run away together."

He shook his head. "No…nothing like that. I…I'm afraid that this is the last time we will be seeing each other for a while."

"Has your father decided not to make any more trips to Highever this year?"

"Actually, he is returning in three weeks' time, but I will not be accompanying him."

"But why not, Nate? Have you found a girl back in Amaranthine who suits your fancy more than me?"

Nathaniel found Tori's relentless teasing was making things much more difficult. He had just come into the age where he began to think of the opposite sex differently, and that summer he started to see Tori in a completely different light. Her long flaxen hair, her bright blue eyes, her full coral lips, the way her hips swayed when she walked…Nathaniel had noticed it all.

"Tori!" he shouted with frustration. "Will you just be serious for a moment? Please?"

Her smile dropped as her brow creased. "What's going on Nate? You aren't angry with me are you?"

"No" he sighed forlornly. "I am not angry with you. I…my father is sending me away…to the Free Marches…at the end of next week."

"But when will you return? Will you be here next summer?"

"I'm afraid not. I am to become a squire for a nobleman there."

"Well, how long will it take before you are released from his service?"

"Ten years" the young man whispered sadly as he stared down at his untouched bowl of dessert.

"Ten years?" Tori asked incredulously. "But why would your father do that?"

Nathaniel gazed into Tori's glistening blue eyes. "Because I am the younger son. My brother is the one to inherit the arling which means that I…I am in the way. Father says he is doing it to give me a better future, but I know the truth of it."

Tears began streaming down Tori's cheeks. "You are the best friend I have ever had, Nate and now you are going to forget all about me."

He shook his head adamantly and took her face into his hands. "That will never happen, Tori. Do you hear me? Never. We will always be best friends, no matter what else happens." As he stared into her tear-filled eyes, Nathaniel leaned in and touched his lips softly to hers. "And maybe…when I return someday…if you haven't found another…we can be something more."

Tori swallowed hard as she nodded. A sad smile crept across her face. "I would really like that Nate. There will never be anyone but you. I will wait for you and when you return we can be together and never have to say goodbye again."

The young Howe slipped his hands to the back of his neck and unclasped the chain around it. He slid it around Tori's neck and refastened it. "This was my mother's" he explained. "I want you to have it…so you will remember me and the promise we made to one another."

"I will wear it always" she vowed before kissing him for the second time.

"Mistress Mara's going to throw a hissy fit when she sees all this mess" Nathaniel heard Victoria say over his shoulder. "What in the Maker's name are you trying to do, anyway?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise" he told her.

"A surprise? For who?"

"For you" he confessed.

"For me?" she asked with bewilderment. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion really" he shrugged. "Anyway, it's ready. If you wouldn't mind going to the table I'll serve it to you."

Obviously taken aback by the gesture, she smiled. "Okay" she agreed and headed for the dining room.

Once she was out of site, Nathaniel quickly removed the hot biscuits from the oven and spooned out two bowlfuls of the sweet concoction from the kettle. He put two biscuits on each of two plates and then placed the bowls of compote in the middle before putting it all on a large serving tray. Carefully, he walked it into the dining hall, placed the tray in the center of the table and served one plate to the commander then the other to himself in front of a chair next to hers.

"Apple cinnamon compote" she observed with a grin. "I haven't had this in ages."

"I knew it was always your favorite. I hope I didn't muck it up too badly."

Victoria's lids narrowed in confusion. "Why did you do this, Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel had rehearsed the words he wanted to say to her a hundred times in his head, but he found that he was unable to recall any of it. The only thing he could remember was what she said to him the first time they had shared that very dessert. "There's only one problem…I don't have any tea. I'm sorry."

She stared into his eyes for a long moment before whispering, "That's okay. I never really cared for tea much anyway. The dessert is the best part."

"So you do remember?" he said with a smile.

Victoria nodded. "Of course I remember." Then she did something he would never have expected. She got up from her chair and knelt down beside him before pulling the chain she wore around her neck out of her shirt. She let the amulet that hung from it dangle freely from her fingertips. It was Nathaniel's mother's necklace, the same one he gave to Victoria all those years ago.

"You have worn that all this time?"

"Yes" she breathed. "I have never forgotten the promise we made. After you were captured and you looked at me with such hatred in your eyes, I thought of removing it, but I just couldn't make myself do it."

"What are you saying?" he inquired as he searched her blue eyes.

"I am saying that…my heart belongs to you, Nate. You and you alone. It has since I was six. I have never wanted to be with anyone else…just you, Nathaniel Howe."

With those words, Nathaniel took Victoria's face into his hands and kissed her the way he had longed to thousands of times while they were apart. "I love you, Tori" he whispered softly as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I have always loved you."

"And I love you, Nate" she answered in kind.


End file.
